| 2 dead, 1 injured in Md. church rectory fire Posted: 26 Nov 2013 04:10 PM PST OCEAN CITY, Md. (AP) — Authorities say two people are dead and another suffered life-threatening injuries in a fire at a church rectory in Ocean City, Md. |
| Supreme Court to take up birth control religion case Posted: 26 Nov 2013 04:06 PM PST  The US Supreme Court said Tuesday it will address the question of whether a firm can use religious grounds to limit the availability of birth control on its health plan. The court's nine justices announced they would hear arguments, probably in March or April, in two cases between the US government and firms that object to purchasing health coverage covering certain contraceptive methods. In the first case, President Barack Obama's administration is challenging the refusal of Hobby Lobby Stores to underwrite coverage for certain contraceptive methods. "The President believes that no one, including the government or for-profit corporations, should be able to dictate those decisions to women," the White House said in a statement shortly after the Supreme Court decision.
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| Pope-Putin Visit: Is church détente in the works? Posted: 26 Nov 2013 01:36 PM PST Earlier this year, Pope Francis lent a loud voice of moral opprobrium over the push by the US to punish Syria for the use of chemical weapons against civilians— something Moscow, a Syrian ally, openly welcomed. The highest-ranking Vatican official ever to visit Moscow came in 1896 when a cardinal led a delegation to the coronation of Tsar Nicholas II. John Paul II died in 2005 having tried in vain to visit Russia. A millennium-long theological schism, lingering political distrust, and the Kremlin's embrace of an increasingly powerful Orthodox Church. Stalin famously dismissed the Vatican's might. "The Pope! How many divisions has he got?" he was quoted by Winston Churchill as saying. |
| Pope issues mission statement for papacy Posted: 26 Nov 2013 01:09 PM PST  VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis denounced the global financial system that excludes the poor as he issued the mission statement for his papacy on Tuesday, saying he wants the Catholic Church to get its hands dirty as it seeks to bring solace and mercy to society's outcasts.
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| Pope Francis Adds the 'Tyranny' of the Markets to His Burn Book Posted: 26 Nov 2013 10:01 AM PST  Pope Francis took his condemnation of worldwide economic injustice several steps further on Tuesday, issuing a lengthy official statement that puts the markets, and its lovers, on notice. The 51,000-word outline of his vision for the Catholic Church's direction under his leadership is his first major publication since the papal elections this spring. The document is known as an apostolic exhortation, and it is basically the pope's official platform. This shouldn't really surprise anyone, but Pope Francis wants to do things a bit differently. This is the bit of Francis's apostolic exhortation that's getting the most attention, and for good reason.
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| Person of the year: Edward Snowden or the Pope Posted: 26 Nov 2013 09:50 AM PST This year, there is only one logical choice: Edward Snowden. More than health care reform, more than the budget fight, more than the crisis in Syria, the prestige and power of the United States has been most damaged by Snowden's revelations. In many ways, I think the Snowden revelations are the largest source of background noise and the functional cause of President Obama's falling approval ratings. |
| Supreme Court steps into fight over employers' religious objections to birth-control coverage Posted: 26 Nov 2013 08:50 AM PST Supreme Court steps into fight over employers' religious objections to birth-control coverage. |
| Pope attacks 'tyranny' of markets in manifesto for papacy Posted: 26 Nov 2013 08:46 AM PST  By Naomi O'Leary VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis attacked unfettered capitalism as "a new tyranny" and beseeched global leaders to fight poverty and growing inequality, in a document on Tuesday setting out a platform for his papacy and calling for a renewal of the Catholic Church. The 84-page document, known as an apostolic exhortation, was the first major work he has authored alone as pope and makes official many views he has aired in sermons and remarks since he became the first non-European pontiff in 1,300 years in March. In it, Francis went further than previous comments criticizing the global economic system, attacking the "idolatry of money", and urged politicians to "attack the structural causes of inequality" and strive to provide work, healthcare and education to all citizens. "How can it be that it is not a news item when an elderly homeless person dies of exposure, but it is news when the stock market loses 2 points?" The pope said renewal of the Church could not be put off and said the Vatican and its entrenched hierarchy "also need to hear the call to pastoral conversion".
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| Pope Francis urges reform of papal powers Posted: 26 Nov 2013 07:58 AM PST  Pope Francis called for reform to take powers from the Vatican and said Catholics should be more engaged in helping the needy, but ruled out allowing women priests in a key document released by the Vatican on Tuesday. The Catholic leader said he was seeking advice on how his role should change -- using an informal style for his first "apostolic exhortation", in which he outlined his vision for the future of the Roman Catholic Church. Francis said it was time for "a conversion of the papacy", adding that "excessive centralisation, rather than proving helpful, complicates the Church's life". The 84-page document did not address many of the hot-button ethical reforms called for by progressives but Francis did say that the issue of the priesthood being reserved for men was "not a question open to discussion".
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| No rise in Mass attendance for American Catholics, despite pope's popularity Posted: 25 Nov 2013 10:20 PM PST  The popularity of Pope Francis, who became pontiff in March, has failed to draw more U.S. Catholics to attend Mass, according to a Pew Research Center poll released on Monday. While media reports indicate a significant rise in church attendance in some European countries in recent months, the United States saw a slight decrease in Mass attendance since April compared with last year, the survey found. Since April, 39 percent of U.S. Catholics report attending mass at least once a week, compared with 40 percent of American Catholics who reported that level of attendance last year, according to the Pew Research Center survey. The Pew Research Center said its sample size for the survey on church attendance was 7,506.
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| China aims to harness religious beliefs to promote harmony Posted: 25 Nov 2013 08:47 PM PST  China should harness the positive influence of moderate religious believers, including their traditions of benevolence and tolerance, and recognize their contributions to society, the country's top religious affairs official wrote on Tuesday. The ruling and officially atheist Communist Party, which values stability above all else, has tried to co-opt religion in recent years as a force for social harmony in a country where few believe in communism any more. Wang Zuoan, head of the State Administration of Religious Affairs, wrote in the Communist Party's official People's Daily that even though most people in China have no religion, those who do have an important role to play in promoting harmony. "We should pay great attention to the eagerness of religious believers," Wang wrote.
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